CUNA and NAFCU officials are assuming that Office of Managementand Budget Director Mick Mulvaney is acting director of the CFPBand wasted wasting no time in sending him a laundry list ofcomplaints about how the agency has operated.

As a Republican House member from South Carolina, Mulvaneysupported legislation to abolish or restrain the CFPB and thecredit union trade groups clearly view him as an ally.

President Trump selected Mulvaney to run the agency on aninterim basis. However, before he left office former DirectorRichard Cordray designated his deputy, Leandra English, as actingdirector. She has sued Trump over the issue.

Given the pending legal battle, any action that the CFPBtakes likely will face a legal challenge.

In a letter to Mulvaney, CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle—himself aformer OMB director--said that the CFPB has issued broad rules thatare intended to rein in “irresponsible practices of other industrystakeholders.

He added that the agency repeatedly has failed to consider thesize, complexity, structure or mission of credit unions.

Nussle said that the agency should not finalize any ruleaffecting credit unions unless they are intended to provide relieffor credit unions. He asked Mulvaney to ensure that no new rulesare proposed that will affect credit unions.

And he asked Mulvaney to allow the NCUA to administerexamination and supervision of all credit unions—even ones thathave more than $10 billion in assets.

In his letter, NAFCU/CEO B. Dan Berger said that since theenactment of Dodd-Frank more than 1,500 credit unions have foldedor merged with another credit union, adding that many of thosecredit unions simply could not afford the cost of compliance/

He asked Mulvaney to ensure that the CFPB increases the use ofthe bureau’s power to exempt certain financial institutions fromits rules.

He also asked that the agency freeze any rule development thatwould affect the burden of credit unions, including rules affectingdebt collection.

And he asked that the bureau’s “looming” Home MortgageDisclosure Act rules be delayed for a year.

Democrats already have expressed fear that Mulvaney willdismantle much of the agency’s work and that English is therightful agency director.

“Independence is critical to the Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau’s ability to aggressively and successfully fight forhardworking Americans and against Wall Street abuses,” said SenateBanking Committee ranking Democrat Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

Republicans say that Mulvaney is the acting director and theyviewed the appointment as an opportunity to rein in the agency.

“With the resignation of Richard Cordray, there is now awonderful opportunity to completely reform what has been a rogueagency that often harmed the very consumers it was charged withhelping," said House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling(R-Texas).

But is continues to be unclear who is in charge at theagency.

English and Mulvaney even sent out competing messages to agencystaff. In his message, Mulvaney directed CFPB staff members toignore any directions issued by English.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) said any agency employee who implementsa direction from English should be fired.

One credit union lobbyist said the dueling appointmentsrepresent more than a clash of policies.

“The ‘House of Cards’ melodrama that’s unfolding at CFPB isinteresting and fun to watch at some level, but underneath areserious questions about competing philosophies of government, saidJohn McKechnie, senior partner at Total Spectrum. “The Cordrayregime at CFPB was one of the last bastions of the ObamaAdministration, and certainly one of the most high-profile andcontroversial.”